I am new to this forum and investigating Buddhism, please be patient with my funny questions

A question about kamma (karma).

Is everything that happens to us due to our kamma ? Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

For example, if I get stabbed with a knife by a robber taking my wallet, did I deserve it ? Or does coincidence play a role, i.e are some things that happen to us just bad luck and coincidence and not relate to my past deeds ?

Bohemian Seeker wrote:Is everything that happens to us due to our kamma ?

No.

Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

No, not necessarily.

For example, if I get stabbed with a knife by a robber taking my wallet, did I deserve it ?

Maybe, maybe not; no need to speculate. Maybe you just happened to cross paths with a bad guy. The kamma is on him.

Or does coincidence play a role, i.e are some things that happen to us just bad luck and coincidence and not relate to my past deeds ?

Yes.

There are five levels of cause and effect and kamma is only one of them. For example, the weather might be really windy and cold one day, which makes you more susceptible to catching a cold, which you do and suffer from that. This is due to the cause of the physical world, not any past deeds.

Bohemian Seeker wrote:Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

In addition to David's fine response to your questions, you might wish to consider how Gotama defined kamma within his system of Dhamma.

In the Anguttara Nikaya at 6.63 he stated: "It is volition, monks, that I declare to be kamma. For having willed, one performs an action by body, speech, or mind."

Now, spend a moment and just contemplate that statement. Contemplate the implications of that statement. Come to know it inside and out. And in that process, relieve your mind of any wrong views about kamma so that it might be at ease.

Anguttara Nikaya 6.63 wrote:(5) "Kamma should be understood; the source and origin of kamma should be understood; the diversity of kamma should be understood; the result of kamma should be understood; the cessation of kamma should be understood; the way leading to the cessation of kamma should be understood." ...

"And what is the source and origin of kamma? Contact is its source and origin. [Contact at the six sense spheres: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, bodily tactile sense objects, and mind or mental phenomena.]

"And what is the diversity of kamma? There is kama to be experienced in hell; there is kamma to be experienced in the realm of afflicted spirits; there is kamma to be experienced in the human world; and there is kamma to be experienced in the deva world. This is called the diversity of kamma.

"And what is the result of kamma? The result of kamma, I say, is threefold: [to be experienced] in this very life, or in the [next] rebirth, or on some subsequent occasion. This is called the result of kamma.

"And what, bhikkhus, is the cessation of kamma? With the cessation of contact there is cessation of kamma.

"This noble eightfold path is the way leading to the cessation of kamma, namely, right view, right thought (intention), right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration."

"When, bhikkhus, a noble disciple thus understands kamma, the source and origin of kamma, the diversity of kamma, the result of kamma, the cessation of kamma, and the way leading to the cessation of kamma, he understands this penetrative spiritual life to be the cessation of kamma.

I am new to this forum and investigating Buddhism, please be patient with my funny questions

A question about kamma (karma).

Is everything that happens to us due to our kamma ? Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

For example, if I get stabbed with a knife by a robber taking my wallet, did I deserve it ? Or does coincidence play a role, i.e are some things that happen to us just bad luck and coincidence and not relate to my past deeds ?

Kamma, Sanskrit Karma, lit., means action or doing. Strictly speaking, Kamma means all moral and immoral volition (cetana). It covers all that is included in the phrase- "thought, word and deed." It is the law of moral causation. In other words, it is action and reaction in the ethical realm, or "action influence" as Westerners say. It is not fate or predestination. It is one's own doing reacting on oneself.

Every volitional action, except that of a Buddha or of an Arahant, is called Kamma. The Buddhas and Arahants do not accumulate fresh Kamma as they have eradicated ignorance and craving, the roots of Kamma.

Kamma is action and Vipaka, fruit or result, is its reaction. It is the cause and effect. Like a seed is Kamma. Vipaka (effect) is like the fruit arising from the tree. As we sow, we reap somewhere and sometime in this life or in a future birth. What we reap today is what we have sown either in the present or in the past.

Kamma is the law in itself, and it operates in its own field without the intervention of an external, independent ruling agency.

Inherent in Kamma is the potentiality of producing its due effect. The cause produces the effect; the effect explains the cause. The seed produces the effect; the fruit explains th3e seed; such is their relationship. Even so are Kamma and its effect; 'the effect already blooms in the cause."

In Buddhism, there are no such things as luck, fortunate, coincidence, chance, because the law of causality applies to our lives.

If you were to confront a robber with a knife, you should try to dissuade him not to harm you by e.g. giving him the money in your wallet, pushing him away and run, shout for help etc. After having attempted to the best of your ability to avoid being harmed, and you still got stabbed, yes, this is your Vipaka, the consequence of your past Kamma ripening.

Feeling the suffering and pain after having been stabbed, what would be your thoughts: anger, revengeful, punch him, steal his knife and stab him back? These feelings are exactly what Buddhists should try to avoid. Understanding, that what happened was your Vipaka is the only way to rationalise the event and prevent you from acting upon your retaliatory thoughts, which would be new unwholesome Kammas awaiting ripening in future.

At that time, Maha-Moggallana lived alone in a forest hut at Kalasila. After his encounter with Mara he knew that the end of his days was near. Having enjoyed the bliss of liberation, he now felt the body to be just an obstruction and burden. Hence he had no desire to make use of his faculties and keep the body alive for the rest of the aeon. Yet, when he saw the brigands approaching, he just absented himself by using his supernormal powers. The gangsters arrived at an empty hut, and though they searched everywhere, could not find him. They left disappointed, but returned on the following day. On six consecutive days Moggallana escaped from them in the same way. His motivation was not the protection of his own body, but saving the brigands from the fearsome karmic consequences of such a murderous deed, necessarily leading to rebirth in the hells. He wanted to spare them such a fate by giving them time to reconsider and abstain from their crime. But their greed for the promised money was so great that they persisted and returned even on the seventh day. Then their persistence was "rewarded," for on that seventh day Moggallana suddenly lost the magic control over his body. A heinous deed committed in days long past (by causing the death of his own parents) had not yet been expiated, and the ripening of that old Kamma confronted him now, just as others are suddenly confronted by a grave illness. Moggallana realized that he was now unable to escape. The brigands entered, knocked him down, smashed all his limbs and left him lying in his blood. Being keen on quickly getting their reward and also somewhat ill as ease about their dastardly deed, the brigands left at once, without a further look.

But Moggallana's great physical and mental strength was such that his vital energies had not yet succumbed. He regained consciousness and was able to drag himself to the Buddha. There, in the Master's presence, at the holiest place of the world, at the source of the deepest peace, Moggallana breathed his last (Jat. 522E). The inner peace in which he dwelt since he attained to sainthood, never left him. It did not leave him even in the last seven days of his life, which had been so turbulent. But even the threat of doom was only external. This is the way of those who are finally "healed" and holy and are in control of the mind. Whatever Kamma of the past had been able to produce a result in his present life, nevertheless, it could affect only his body, but no longer "him," because "he" no longer identified himself with anything existing only impermanently. This last episode of Moggallana's life, however, showed that the law of moral causality (Kamma) has even greater power than the supernormal feats of this master of magic.

I am new to this forum and investigating Buddhism, please be patient with my funny questions

A question about kamma (karma).

Is everything that happens to us due to our kamma ? Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

For example, if I get stabbed with a knife by a robber taking my wallet, did I deserve it ? Or does coincidence play a role, i.e are some things that happen to us just bad luck and coincidence and not relate to my past deeds ?

I look forward to your answers,

Best wishes to all

Mike

Not everything that happens is attributable to kamma. In addition to practicing abstaining from stealing and abstaining from harming, you could also practice avoiding robbers and using Akido to protect yourself.

Buddhism in a Nutshell by Ven. Narada Maha Thera wrote:We reap what we have sown. What we sow we reap somewhere or some when. In one sense we are the result of what we were; we will be the result of what we are. In another sense, we are not totally the result of what we were and we will not absolutely be the result of what we are. For instance, a criminal today may be a saint tomorrow.

Buddhism attributes this variation to Kamma, but it does not assert that everything is due to Kamma.

If everything were due to Kamma, a man must ever be bad, for it is his Kamma to be bad. One need not consult a physician to be cured of a disease, for if one's Kamma is such one will be cured.

According to Buddhism, there are five orders or processes (Niyamas) which operate in the physical and mental realms:

Kamma Niyama, order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results.Utu Niyama, physical (inorganic) order, e.g., seasonal phenomena of winds and rains.Bija Niyama, order of germs or seeds (physical organic order); e.g., rice produced from rice-seed, sugary taste from sugar cane or honey etc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.Citta Niyama, order of mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness (Citta vithi), power of mind etc.Dhamma Niyama, order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a Bodhisatta in his last birth, gravitation, etc.

Every mental or physical phenomenon could be explained by these all-embracing five orders or processes which are laws in themselves.

Kamma is, therefore, only one of the five orders that prevail in the universe. It is a law in itself, but it does not thereby follow that there should be a law-giver. Ordinary laws of nature, like gravitation, need no law-giver. It operates in its own field without the intervention of an external independent ruling agency.

A number of references can be found for where the niyamas are discussed in the Abhidhamma commentaries at Niyama (Buddhism) on Wikipedia.

I remember reading a pithy one-liner, and it has stayed with me as a 'caveat' ever since:

'Kamma means you don't get away with anything; and it all counts'.

Great show-stopper when you think about doing something....

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.

Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap." ‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....

There's an enjoyable talk about kamma which was given by Ajahn Amaro, abbot of Amaravati Monastery UK. Its called "Who is pulling the strings" and its underneath the Question & Answer session with the same name on the list at the link. (Dated 23rd September 2012)

I am new to this forum and investigating Buddhism, please be patient with my funny questions

A question about kamma (karma).

Is everything that happens to us due to our kamma ? Does this mean that we deserve all our bad luck and suffering, as the kamma is a result of our previous thoughts, words and deeds, in this life and in previous ones ?

For example, if I get stabbed with a knife by a robber taking my wallet, did I deserve it ? Or does coincidence play a role, i.e are some things that happen to us just bad luck and coincidence and not relate to my past deeds ?

I look forward to your answers,

Best wishes to all

Mike

Hello, Mike.

The Buddha never said that everything that happens to us is the result of our Kamma. In fact, he said the opposite. In the Tittha Sutta the Buddha said:

Tittha Sutta wrote:"Monks, there are these three sectarian guilds that — when cross-examined, pressed for reasons, & rebuked by wise people — even though they may explain otherwise, remain stuck in [a doctrine of] inaction. Which three?

"There are brahmans & contemplatives who hold this teaching, hold this view: 'Whatever a person experiences — pleasant, painful, or neither pleasant nor painful — that is all caused by what was done in the past.' There are brahmans & contemplatives who hold this teaching, hold this view: 'Whatever a person experiences — pleasant, painful, or neither pleasant nor painful — that is all caused by a supreme being's act of creation.' There are brahmans & contemplatives who hold this teaching, hold this view: 'Whatever a person experiences — pleasant, painful, or neither pleasant nor painful — that is all without cause & without condition.'

In the full Sutta theBuddha said that saying that everything that happens is the result of Kamma is a doctrine of inaction, and is on par with denying causality all together or saying that everything is fated by a creator God.

The teaching of Kamma-Vipaka, or action and result is a teaching about how we have the ability to influence our futures. The Abhidhamma explains it in terms of our mind states by saying that mindstates which are based on greed, hatred, or delusion incline the mind towards unhappiness, and mindstates which are based on the opposite of these incline the mind to happiness. It shouldn't be understood as a teaching that we are fated to a certain result, but a teaching empowering us to develop our minds and have confidence that we can gain benefit from it even if it isn't immediately apparent.

The non-doing of any evil, The performance of what's skillful,The cleansing of one's own mind: This is the Buddhas' teaching.

All is due to law of kamma, law of causes and consequences. It is impossible that somethink heppens without any cause or condition.When somethink heppens without cause or condition it's called "chaos", but there is no "chaos" there is only order, so - yes all is due to kamma.

walkart wrote:All is due to law of kamma, law of causes and consequences. It is impossible that somethink heppens without any cause or condition.When somethink heppens without cause or condition it's called "chaos", but there is no "chaos" there is only order, so - yes all is due to kamma.

"some feelings, Sivaka, arise here originating from bile disorders... originating from phlegm disorders,.... originating from wind disorders....originating from an imbalance <of the three>.... produced by change of climate... produced by careless behavior... caused by assault... produced as the result of kamma: how some feelings arise here produced as the result of kamma one can know for oneself, and that is considered to be true in the world." Now when those ascetics and brahmins hold such a doctrine and view as this, 'Whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful, that is caused by what was done in the past,' they over shoot what is considered to be true in the world. Therefore I say that this is wrong on the part of those ascetics and brahmins.”

walkart wrote:All is due to law of kamma, law of causes and consequences. It is impossible that somethink heppens without any cause or condition.When somethink heppens without cause or condition it's called "chaos", but there is no "chaos" there is only order, so - yes all is due to kamma.

"some feelings, Sivaka, arise here originating from bile disorders... originating from phlegm disorders,.... originating from wind disorders....originating from an imbalance <of the three>.... produced by change of climate... produced by careless behavior... caused by assault... produced as the result of kamma: how some feelings arise here produced as the result of kamma one can know for oneself, and that is considered to be true in the world." Now when those ascetics and brahmins hold such a doctrine and view as this, 'Whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful, that is caused by what was done in the past,' they over shoot what is considered to be true in the world. Therefore I say that this is wrong on the part of those ascetics and brahmins.”

Thanks for this quotation. I agree. Perhaps my is using and understanding of word kamma is not exact, and it refers not to all kinds of causes and conditions but only to those of living beings.What i meant is that all phenomenons have some cause. If we read this quotation we can remark it.

"some feelings, Sivaka, arise here originating from bile disorders... originating from phlegm disorders,.... originating from wind disorders....originating from an imbalance <of the three>.... produced by change of climate... produced by careless behavior... caused by assault... produced as the result of kamma: how some feelings arise here produced as the result of kamma one can know for oneself, and that is considered to be true in the world." Now when those ascetics and brahmins hold such a doctrine and view as this, 'Whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful, that is caused by what was done in the past,' they over shoot what is considered to be true in the world. Therefore I say that this is wrong on the part of those ascetics and brahmins.”

Hi "tiltbillings",

Thanks for the very helpful sutta reference. The suttas cited by Bhante "IanAnd" are also very helpful.

I'd like to add the following teaching in S.III.132 (S.18/227-230/166) to the discussion:

“Bhikkhus, I will expound new kamma, old kamma, the cessation of kamma and the way leading to the cessation of kamma … What is old kamma? Eye … ear … nose … tongue … body … mind should be understood as old kamma, [color=#0000BF]these being formed from conditions, born of volition, and the base of feeling. This is called ‘old kamma.’

“Bhikkhus, what is ‘new kamma’? [Volitional] Actions created through body, speech and mind in the present moment, these are called ‘new kamma.’

“Bhikkhus, what is the cessation of kamma? The experience of liberation arising from the cessation of bodily kamma, verbal kamma and mental kamma, is called the cessation of kamma.“Bhikkhus, what is the way leading to the cessation of kamma? This is the Noble Eightfold Path, namely, Right View … Right Concentration. This is called the way leading to the cessation of kamma.”[/color]Since the body and mind are ‘old kamma’ born of volition, I wonder why the Buddha classified bodily or mental feelings "originating from bile disorders... originating from phlegm disorders,.... originating from wind disorders....originating from an imbalance <of the three>.... produced by change of climate... produced by careless behavior... caused by assault..." other than results of kamma. It seems to me they are also results of old kamma. Since all our experience in the world are the results of the six senses born of volition, it seems to me that all we experience in the world are the results of old kamma. Probably "kamma" the Buddha taught in the vedanasamyutta sutta refers to new kamma?

starter wrote:Since the body and mind are ‘old kamma’ born of volition, I wonder why the Buddha classified bodily or mental feelings "originating from bile disorders... originating from phlegm disorders,.... originating from wind disorders....originating from an imbalance <of the three>.... produced by change of climate... produced by careless behavior... caused by assault..." other than results of kamma. It seems to me they are also results of old kamma. Since all our experience in the world are the results of the six senses born of volition, it seems to me that all we experience in the world are the results of old kamma. Probably "kamma" the Buddha taught in the vedanasamyutta sutta refers to new kamma?

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Metta to all!

Hello starter,

I don't know whether you are wrong. But for sure you do not seem to be taking a very practical point of view here.The Buddha, as I see it, gave a practical way of looking at the reality that presents itself, not trying to lay out precise mechanisms as you seem to be trying to construe, as in "all our experience are the results of the six senses born of volition -> all we experience in the world are the results of old kamma" in order to work out a complete "theory" like physicists would like to have (and always fail) for the material world.

So if a statement by the Buddha in that area seems imprecise I would not assume that there is something lacking. The whole path to liberation is about deconstructing the kamma process, not to work it out complete as a descriptive model, which the Buddha taught to be impossible. Always take workable chunks into consideration in the situation at hand when there is something subject to doubt. Always stay at the level presented and not make it more complicated, that, I'd say, is the hallmark of the whole practice to deconstruct the process of kamma. If it says "killing your mother or father is leading to hell" for example, that is a very rough level. There's no point in working it out more precisely. It would produce all the sankharas mentally for such cruel actions, just to understand why. It requires volition of the wrong sort. Not the way to go.

(Not to put your inquiry into the same category, but just to give a crude example.)

The Buddha warned not to speculate about the precise workings of kamma, as it will lead to madness and vexation. I take it that it is best to always stay with the descriptions given by the Buddha in this and that given situation and never make more of it. When people try to make more out of it on a more theoretical level there will always be the danger that this more will become more and more and more and more, not for the sake of liberating insight (deconstruction of the kamma process on a very practical level - on the level of present volition, working with the kamma that is present and consciously understood in this process of understanding), but for the sake of constructing more complicated levels for the workings of kamma - which one will all have to work out for oneself. It is only adding layers of confusion.

So all statements by the Buddha about kamma are to be taken as they are given, for the purpose of deconstruction of kamma at the level at hand, not to be built upon to make it more complete. That is how I understand it to be workable, leading onward, towards liberating insight and the end of kamma.

So,

Probably "kamma" the Buddha taught in the vedanasamyutta sutta refers to new kamma?

, I would say that the statements given in the vedanasamyutta, as well as what you quoted from S3.132 are practical provisional descriptions not to be pieced together constructively in a theoretical framework with descriptions given in other suttas to gain a more complete picture.

Further, beyond that dismissal, or cautionary considerations, one thing to refute in the theory on the level you presented: "all our experience in the world are the results of the six senses" is wrong. For example there is the sphere of nothingness, where the six senses disappear. There's no black, nor white, no form or color, no sight at all, no sound, no touch, no smell, no taste, no thought. But consciousness, experience.

perkele wrote:Always take workable chunks into consideration in the situation at hand when there is something subject to doubt.

-- Thanks a lot for your very helpful input, "perkele". As a disciple, we should always remember "The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple; the Blessed One knows, I do not know." When we don't understand some of his teaching, we should not doubt the Buddha and the teaching, but tell ourselves it's only because I'm not yet up to the level to understand the teaching; of course there's also the possibility that it's not really what the Buddha originally taught.

The Buddha warned not to speculate about the precise workings of kamma, as it will lead to madness and vexation. I take it that it is best to always stay with the descriptions given by the Buddha in this and that given situation and never make more of it. When people try to make more out of it on a more theoretical level there will always be the danger that this more will become more and more and more and more, not for the sake of liberating insight (deconstruction of the kamma process on a very practical level - on the level of present volition, working with the kamma that is present and consciously understood in this process of understanding), but for the sake of constructing more complicated levels for the workings of kamma - which one will all have to work out for oneself. It is only adding layers of confusion.

So all statements by the Buddha about kamma are to be taken as they are given, for the purpose of deconstruction of kamma at the level at hand, not to be built upon to make it more complete. That is how I understand it to be workable, leading onward, towards liberating insight and the end of kamma.

-- Well said. We should always regard/apply the teaching as medicine to cure our diseases (defilements) in our daily practice, instead of trying to treat/understand it as a theory.

Thanks for reminding me the Buddha's warning not to speculate about the precise workings of kamma, as it will lead to madness and vexation. I agree it's not beneficial to do so. We should focus on "the handful of leaves", which the Buddha repeatedly taught and are really useful to us.

Further, beyond that dismissal, or cautionary considerations, one thing to refute in the theory on the level you presented: "all our experience in the world are the results of the six senses" is wrong. For example there is the sphere of nothingness, where the six senses disappear. There's no black, nor white, no form or color, no sight at all, no sound, no touch, no smell, no taste, no thought. But consciousness, experience.

-- To my understanding, consciousness is the 6th sense, which only ceases to function at the sphere of cessation of perception & feeling. I didn't mean that all spheres are the results of all the six senses. Just to clarify.

-- To my understanding, consciousness is the 6th sense, which only ceases to function at the sphere of cessation of perception & feeling. I didn't mean that all spheres are the results of all the six senses. Just to clarify.

Thank you for correcting me, starter. This made me question, and looking up this sutta I think I may have gained a somewhat better understanding now.

Of course it is difficult to understand what actually is the sixth sense if one does not know its cessation.